LOS ANGELES — It was Joe Namath sitting poolside guaranteeing a Super Bowl victory for the New York Jets.
It was Muhammad Ali at ringside telling the world he’d “whup’’ George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle.
And it was Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and president Stan Kasten predicting a baseball dynasty.
The date was Feb. 28, 2013, and the Dodgers were coming out of the throes of bankruptcy, failing to reach the playoffs three consecutive seasons, when Walter was asked whether it was remotely possible to duplicate Atlanta’s success when they won 14 consecutive division titles under Kasten as president.
“It's going to be done again," Walter told USA TODAY Sports. “This time on the West Coast.’’
Kasten recoiled, Walter apologized, and 13 years later Thursday night, were laughing about their bravado.
“It’s funny, too,’’ Walter said Thursday, “because at the time I didn’t realize how hard it would be. But even though we did it, it's still crazy.
"It’s nuts."
It’s also reality.
The Dodgers have since played 13 full seasons, won 12 NL West Division titles, five National League pennants and three World Series championships.
And the way they looked Thursday night in their 8-2season-opening victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of a sellout crowd of 53,712 at Dodger Stadium, their dynasty isn’t about to end any time soon.
The Dodgers, after spotting the D-backs a 2-0 lead, proudly showed off their relentless lineup, pounding out 10 hits while limiting the D-backs to just one hit the final six innings.
“I think the word to say is ‘relentless,’’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s a relentless lineup. ... When you face a lineup like ours, it certainly has to be taxing. When you feel like you have to be perfect, and continue to be executing and executing, it’s tough, mentally and physically.’’
Really, the most difficult aspect of the Dodgers' evening was to keep a straight face during the pregame ceremony watching award-winning actor Will Ferrell driving a blue Cadillac through the center-field gate carrying the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas in the back seat, pretending as if they had retrieved stolen World Series championship trophies from Ferrell as they paraded around the outfield.
“Freddie and Miggy ... argh, it was rough,’’ Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said. “They did all right. I gotta get them in some [acting] classes.’’
Said Roberts: “I think they’re probably be 'B' actors.’’
The pregame ceremony was a sweet reminder that the Dodgers are the first team since the New York Yankees a quarter-century ago to win back-to-back World Series titles. Their next conquest is vying to become the first National League team to win three consecutive titles, and only the third overall.
Unlike a year ago when the Dodgers felt pressure to repeat, this time around they consider it a privilege just to have a chance for a three-peat.
“To win three in a row,’’ Roberts said, “that’s unprecedented in the National League. So that’s where it’s more like everyone’s hopeful, excited about it on that potential. But it’s not necessarily a pressure thing in my opinion.’’
While the rest of the baseball world might become nauseous at the sight of seeing the Dodgers back on an October stage collecting yet another World Series trophy, the Dodgers have decided this year to mock their haters.
They showed a video before the game hyping the possibility of history saying, “What’ wrong with being the bad guy?’’ The video ended with the tagline: “Great sequels build legendary trilogies.’’
“That’s self-proclaimed,’’ Roberts said, “so I’m going to embrace it. I don’t know, I guess people like a villain. That’s respect in some way. So, I don’t know, I guess that’s a good thing.’’
Says Betts: “I personally don’t care. You can call us whatever you want to call us. At the end of the day, you’ve got to go play the game. So villains, not villains, whatever. The game will determine who wins and who loses. The villain thing is outside noise.’’
Really, Kasten and Walter will tell you, there’s no reason for anyone to consider them the bad guys. They play by the same rules as everyone else. It’s just that their stack of chips are bigger than everyone else. Their revenue was about $850 million last year, so why not dole out more than $300 million of it to their players, along with $150 million in luxury tax penalties to help out their peers?
Would people be happier if the money just went to the Guggenheim investors to fatten their checkbooks, or would the Dodgers still be hated?
“I don’t think fans hate us now,’’ Kasten said. “I think competitors are impressed with us because they know how hard the job is. I think other fans respect us. So, I think hate is the wrong word, I really do.
“Yeah, we’re the bad guys because everyone needs a target, 'Let’s beat the Dodgers.' My God, we’re playing a game for goodness stakes. Everyone wants their home team to beat someone prominent. And if we could serve that purpose to motivate other teams, great. I’m happy to jazz up the local fans.’’
But no matter how much the Dodgers win, no matter how much they spend, Kasten says, don’t hate the player, hate the game.
“I’ve said for years we have advantages in this market that other teams don’t have,’’ Kasten said. “I acknowledge that. I‘m not going to apologize for capitalizing. That’s what we do. That’s what we’re supposed to do.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve done, but I recognize we have advantages that other teams don’t get to benefit from, and yet, they’re dong a great job with what they have. I have total respect for every team that is competing hard, I really do.’’
There will be a time, Kasten and Walter say, when the winning will ultimately stop. They realize it’s not good for the game for the Dodgers to win year after year. The game needs an injection of parity, Walter says, giving fans hope in every market that their team can be the last one standing.
“We want the game to grow,’’ Walter said. “It’s good for everyone.’’
In the meantime, while waiting to see if a salary cap is imposed, Kasten and Walter believe the postseason is still the equalizer. It’s not as if the Dodgers are rolling out 110-win seasons. They just happen to get in the playoffs year after year, and unlike their predecessors, are becoming October warriors.
“People need to understand that in our structure in baseball we have the firewall of our playoffs system that keeps things even,’’ Kasten says. “It doesn’t matter how you do in the regular season. You’ve got to win the postseason. Anyone has a chance.
“So good team, bad team, a villain team, ruining baseball, it stops when we start the postseason.’’
The Dodgers lost their first two World Series appearances before ending their drought during the 2020 COVID season. They were down 2 games to 1 in the best-of-five series against the San Diego Padres in 2024 only to pitch consecutive shutouts. They were down to their last two outs in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays, only for Rojas to save their season with a game-tying homer.
“It’s funny,’’ Walter said. “That was the only game I thought we’d win was he night we won it.’’
If the Dodgers had lost those World Series, it would have been eerily similar to Atlanta’s fortunes when Kasten was their president, winning the 1995 World Series, but losing in four other World Series appearances. The difference is that Atlanta was an absolute mess, and they had to chop the team down to its studs before building a dynasty. Kasten and Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, didn’t have the luxury of taking their time for a rebuild. It was win, and win quickly.
“When I came here,’’ said Kasten, a Hall of Fame executive candidate, “we knew we were joining an iconic, historic franchise that had been down on its luck a little. We had an opportunity to do this, and to bring the Dodger brand back. We couldn't come in and say, 'Wait for us. We'll be good in four or five years.' Because we had a fan base that had supported this team for five decades. They deserved and expected success now.
“But we said from Day 1, because of the resources in the market, we can do both things at once.’’
Now, 13 years after the start of this dynasty, the Dodgers believe this is their best version, their most talented, compete and perhaps closest team assembled.
“This is the best team,’’ Roberts said. “I think in ’21 it was a very talented team. That was the year we won 106 games. But I think this team, as far as the talent, the complete buy-in, this team is it. But like I’ve said every single year, we’ve still got to go out there and play.’’
When the Dodgers arrived to the ballpark on Thursday, awaiting was a gold-trimmed jersey, a gold-brimmed cap and a giftbag from Shohei Ohtani. Inside were custom watches, and a note: “Let's three-peat.’’
“That talks a lot about what kind of human he is, not just on the field but off the field," said Rojas, who is playing his final season. “That watch, we’re going to keep it forever, and we’re going to remember the best player in the world gave us a watch for Opening Day in 2026.’’
They’d love to finish the season with another piece of jewelry, like another diamond-encrusted ring, knowing that perhaps the only thing that can stop them is a lockout at the end of the year.
“Enjoy it,’’ Roberts said, “because nothing is guaranteed. It’s going to be a great year. I hope everybody pours their spirits and nd their joy into this season because it’s going to be a great one.
“We’ll just figure out where it goes after that.’’
Follow Bob Nightengale on Bluesky and X @Bnightengale.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers embrace villain role with sights on World Series three-peat
